The Netflix premiere of the contentious masterpiece, Dear White People in 2017 resulted in unfair repercussions (for instance, audience vote brigading on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes explain the shockingly low scores.) It didn't make a single dent in its influence, however, explaining why it was consecutively renewed for three more seasons — the series concludes with the fourth.
In the first season, the characters are beginning their journey, and, as such, falter and fumble all over the place as they try to find the least bumpy road possible. Unfortunately, they discover that there exists no such ideal path only much later. Here are the five great episodes from season one, along with five that barely managed to keep the story afloat.
Best: Chapter X (Episode 10) — 5.9
In this rather climactic finish, Reggie soundlessly observes as Sam and Gabe argue about him from beyond the glass (the conversation about her sleeping with him while still together with Gabe.) Meanwhile, Lionel finds out to his dismay that the newspaper he works for, The Independent, is actually paid for by the Hancocks, the superrich contributors to Winchester who also indulge in a ton of unethical behavior.
Fortunately, Lionel's own moral sense saves the day, and he ends up publishing his expose on the Hancocks. At the end, Troy faces the same situation as Reggie does earlier, when the Campus Police arrest him for damaging school property.
Worst: Chapter III (Episode 3) — 5.8
This episode revolves around Troy and his grandiose ambitions — or, to put it more clearly, the ambitions that his father, Dean Fairbanks, expects him to maintain. During the Election day, various students campaign to become Student Body President, but it is Troy who has the most to lose from not winning.
He faces more pressure from the University's President Fletcher, who "requests" him to bail his son, Kurt, out whenever required. The mild mess of narrative loops can be a bit perplexing.
Best: Chapter IV (Episode 4) — 6.0
Coco's unexpected backstory is laid out in "Chapter IV", during which her early friendship with Sam White is explored. This gorgeous plot discusses the complexities of responses towards bigotry, as both Sam and Coco take diametrically opposite stances on the issue of racism, whether overt or subtle.
It is further revealed that the original idea for Sam's radio show, Dear White People, arose from one of their conversations from when they were best pals, which partially justifies the rift between them in the present timeline.
Worst: Chapter VI (Episode 6) — 5.8
Although this episode is technically based on Sam's perspective, it carries on the flow from the previous one (with Addison's party and the unjustified profiling of a black student.)
This is why it's a little weaker than the others, but also because it rehashes the same old trope of pity (?) affection — when Sam hooks up with Reggie because of his vulnerability, and since he guilts her into believing that she had "strung him along since the first day" he met her.
Best: Chapter II (Episode 2) — 6.1
Lionel tries to acknowledge his sexuality without actually coming out; instead, he pleasures himself to the sounds of his roommate, Troy, having sex (but after editing the woman from his imagination.) However, the editor of The Independent, Silvio, quickly deduces that Lionel is still stuck in a fantasy stage in which he finds solace by simply avoiding the structural neatness of labels.
Silvio says one of the most sensible things in the show, "How can you hope to arrive at a truth when you can’t find your own?”. What makes things far more interesting is that Lionel still doesn't get it, and tries to have a threesome with Connor and Becca, which fails spectacularly.
Worst: Chapter VIII (Episode 8) — 5.7
Another Lionel episode, Chapter VIII goes through all of the budding journalist's professional conflicts: can he really handle being a reporter if he cannot handle the flak that comes with his job?
He does come across a fascinating viewpoint, however, while playing video games with Troy (that heterosexual men can be sensitive and delicate and everything that is forbidden to them by virtue of "masculinity.") At the end, though, Lionel betrays his roommate by spilling all his secrets in his latest article, an act that besmirches his compassionate nature.
Best: Chapter I (Episode 1) — 6.2
With the introduction of Sam White and her radio program, the story basically sets the foundation for what is to come in the remainder of the season. It is she who actually "throws" the Blackface Party, in order to see if people really attend something so inappropriate (and they do.)
Simultaneously, it is explained that Sam has a tenuous relationship with her biracialness, which many of her friends assume is the reason behind her sleeping with Gabe Mitchell, the most average white guy on campus. The season premiere is a brilliant flourish.
Worst: Chapter VII (Episode 7) — 5.7
Chapter VII observes the world through Gabe's eyes, especially as a privileged individual who is simply unable to comprehend the disparities faced by POCs on campus (or anywhere else). Further, he wrestles with his own paranoid tendencies, specifically those that tell him that his girlfriend has cheated on him with someone else.
He is almost at the point of breakdown, forcing him to seek his answers from Sam's best friend, Joelle. In a series of stuttered jumps, this episode barely manages to illuminate the feverish mind of Gabe Mitchell, let alone provide sufficient closure.
Best: Chapter V (Episode 5) — 7.3
In this incredible episode, Reggie begins as a playful inventor, creating an app known as "Woke or Not Woke", a student voted based system to evaluate the level of progressiveness on campus.
Unfortunately, and to everybody's horror, the situation at Addison's party later that same evening leaves Reggie on the brink of utter devastation (as anyone would if law enforcement trained their guns on them). This event is a jarring reminder that life, even in elite schools like Winchester, has a tendency towards going the wrong way.
Worst: Chapter IX (Episode 9) — 5.6
Coco finds herself at sea with her new "beau", Troy, whose eye is constantly roving (and not necessarily towards other women.) Things take a turn when he invites her to a highly exclusive fundraising event surrounding the Hancocks, who insist that "self-segregation" is the greatest threat to Winchester's "unity."
They even have the audacity to add that their ten million donation allegedly absolves them of their unreasonable, and supremely problematic, demands. If only there was something more than old white people whining about their non-existent problems to talk about in this episode.